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Strawberry wine is one of the most popular homemade country wines, and it’s especially popular in the south. There are even classic country songs about strawberry wine!
This sweet, blush-pink wine captures the essence of summer strawberries in every sip, and it is the perfect way to preserve a bumper crop of fresh berries long after the harvest ends.
Homemade strawberry wine ferments into a beautiful rose-colored wine with a delicate fruity sweetness that improves with age. The flavor is unmistakably strawberry but refined, with none of the cloying sweetness you might expect from a berry wine.
Fresh strawberries bring natural sugars and a touch of acidity to the fermentation, though we add a few specialty winemaking ingredients to create a balanced wine that will age gracefully for years. You can also make a strawberry mead by substituting honey for some or all of the sugar, which adds complexity and a gorgeous golden-pink hue to the finished wine.
Notes from my Kitchen
We planted a quarter acre of strawberries one year, and boy did they deliver. By midsummer, we were swimming in berries, with buckets coming in faster than we could possibly eat or preserve them. That was the year we made our first batch of strawberry wine, and it became an instant keeper in our household.
There is something magical about cracking open a bottle of homemade strawberry wine in the middle of winter and being transported right back to those sunny June afternoons in the berry patch. The wine improves with each month of aging, and by the time the next strawberry season rolls around, last year’s bottles are drinking beautifully.
This recipe was amazing! Made it with fresh strawberries from our garden and it turned out perfectly. Already planning a bigger batch for next season.
Ingredients for Strawberry Wine
All country winemaking recipes aim to create a balanced fruit wine with enough residual sweetness to be enjoyable, enough acidity to add bright flavor, and enough tannin for good body and mouthfeel. Strawberries bring wonderful color and flavor, but like most fruits (besides grapes), they need a few additions to make a successful wine. Here is what goes into a gallon batch of country wine ingredients:
- Fresh strawberries (4-5 pounds per gallon) – The star of the show. Use ripe, fragrant strawberries at peak sweetness for the best flavor. Slightly overripe berries are actually ideal for winemaking since they have higher sugar content and more developed flavors. Frozen strawberries work well too, and freezing actually helps break down the cell walls to release more juice. Avoid underripe or tasteless supermarket berries, as the wine can only be as good as the fruit you start with.
- Sugar (about 2 pounds per gallon) – Required because strawberries are not nearly as sweet as wine grapes, and without enough sugar the yeast will consume it all too quickly and stall out. The sugar is what gets converted into alcohol, so the finished wine will not taste overly sweet since most of it transforms during fermentation. You cannot use indigestible sugar substitutes like monk fruit, stevia, or Splenda since the yeast need to actually digest the sugar, not just taste sweetness. For a strawberry mead, substitute some or all of the sugar with honey.
- Water – Creates the wine base and dilutes the concentrated fruit. Use filtered or spring water if your tap water has a strong chlorine taste, as chlorine can inhibit yeast activity and affect fermentation.
- Wine yeast – Different strains produce dramatically different flavors and alcohol levels. Yeast contribute flavor esters during fermentation that can enhance fruitiness, floral notes, or other characteristics. See the yeast section below for strain recommendations specific to strawberry wine. Never use bread yeast, which produces off-flavors and dies out at low alcohol levels.
- Yeast nutrient – While wine grapes have all the nutrients yeast need to survive, strawberries are deficient in certain minerals. Yeast cannot live on sugar alone and need nitrogen and other nutrients to thrive. You can substitute a handful of golden raisins (sultanas work best for neutral flavor), but powdered yeast nutrient gives more consistent results.
- Acid blend – Serves two purposes: creates the proper pH environment for yeast to work (wine cannot ferment properly without enough acidity), and balances the residual sweetness for better flavor. Strawberries have moderate natural acidity, so you need less acid blend than many fruit wines. You can substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for each teaspoon of acid blend.
- Pectic enzyme – Optional but recommended. Breaks down the natural pectin in strawberries that would otherwise cloud the wine. Strawberries are actually fairly low in pectin compared to fruits like apples or currants, but adding pectic enzyme still results in better clarity in the finished wine. Alternatively, freezing your strawberries for a week before winemaking reduces pectin by about 50%.
- Tannin – Adds body and improves mouthfeel. Strawberries have very little natural tannin, so without adding some the wine can taste thin and watery. Just a hint of tannic astringency balances a wine that would otherwise be cloying. Add a small amount of tannin powder or brew a strong cup of plain black tea as a substitute.
Yeast for Strawberry Wine
The yeast strain you choose has a profound impact on the finished flavor and character of your strawberry wine. Yeast contribute flavor esters as they ferment, and alcohol tolerance determines both final alcohol percentage and residual sweetness. Good options for strawberry wine:
- Lalvin ICV-D47 – My top recommendation for strawberry wine. This yeast enhances fruity and floral characteristics, producing a wine that really showcases the strawberry flavor. Alcohol tolerance around 14-15%, leaving a touch of residual sweetness.
- Lalvin QA23 – Produces clean, crisp fruit wines with excellent clarity. Good choice if you prefer a lighter, more refreshing style. Alcohol tolerance around 16%.
- Red Star Premier Blanc – A reliable all-purpose wine yeast that works well with delicate fruit flavors. Also excellent if you want to make strawberry mead. Alcohol tolerance around 15%.
- Lalvin EC-1118 – Champagne yeast for a dryer, higher alcohol strawberry wine. Very reliable fermenter that powers through even difficult conditions. Alcohol tolerance up to 18%.
One packet treats 5 gallons of wine. For smaller batches, use about 1 teaspoon per gallon. Never use bread yeast, as it will make your wine taste like bread and dies out when the alcohol level reaches only 2-3%.
Equipment for Strawberry Wine
In addition to ingredients, you will need some basic winemaking equipment. The good news is that most of this gear is reusable for batch after batch:
- Wide-mouth gallon jar or fermentation crock (for primary fermentation with the fruit)
- Narrow-neck glass carboy with airlock (for secondary fermentation)
- Auto-siphon or racking cane with tubing for moving the wine to a clean container and bottling
- Wine bottles and corks
- Double lever hand corker (or use flip-top Grolsch bottles instead)
- Brewing sanitizer
- Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth for straining out fruit
A wide-mouth fermenter is especially helpful for strawberry wine since you will be fermenting with the whole fruit in the primary stage. Mason jar fermentation kits work great for small batches, and many of the airlock lids designed for making sauerkraut work perfectly fine for wine.
How to Make Strawberry Wine
The process follows the same basic method as any small-batch fruit wine. If you are new to winemaking, I recommend reading through my beginner’s guide to making homemade wine first. For mead variations using honey instead of sugar, see my guide on how to make mead.
Preparing the Strawberries
Wash and hull your strawberries, removing the green tops and any bruised or moldy spots. There is no need to chop or mash them at this stage.
If you are using frozen strawberries, let them thaw first but save all of the juice that releases during thawing since it is packed with flavor.
Extracting the Juice
Place the whole strawberries in your primary fermenter and pour the sugar directly over them. I know it looks strange, but trust the process. The sugar pulls the juice right out of the berries through osmosis.
Let this sit for several hours or overnight, and you will come back to find the sugar completely dissolved in a pool of gorgeous strawberry juice. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to gently muddle the softened berries and release even more juice.
Mixing the Must
Add the acid blend, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, and tannin to the strawberry mixture.
Fill the fermenter with water, leaving a few inches of headspace at the top for fermentation activity. Give everything a good stir to combine.
Pitching the Yeast
Once the must has cooled to room temperature (below 90°F), it is time to add the yeast. Rehydrate dry yeast first by dissolving it in about a quarter cup of warm water and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes.
Going straight from a dehydrated packet into a high-sugar solution can shock the yeast and slow fermentation. Be nice and give them a minute to wake up before putting them to work. Pour the activated yeast into your must, give it a gentle stir, and seal with an airlock.
Primary Fermentation
Within a day or two, you should see bubbles forming and the airlock starting to burp. The strawberries will float to the top, forming a “cap” that you should gently push down and stir into the wine once a day to keep everything moist and prevent mold.
Primary fermentation is vigorous and exciting, and your house will smell like a strawberry festival. This stage lasts about 2-3 weeks until the bubbling slows significantly.
Racking to Secondary
When the vigorous bubbling slows and sediment becomes visible at the bottom, it is time to rack the wine into a secondary fermenter. Use your auto-siphon to transfer the wine, straining out all the strawberry pulp through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth as you go.
Leave the sediment (called lees) behind in the primary fermenter. Transfer to a narrow-neck carboy, top with an airlock, and store in a cool, dark place.
Secondary fermentation takes another 4-6 weeks as the wine slowly clears and finishes fermenting.
Bottling and Aging
Before bottling, taste your wine. If it is too dry for your preference, you can backsweeten by first stabilizing with Campden tablets, then adding simple syrup to taste. Siphon the clear wine into bottles, leaving behind any sediment, and cork or cap.
Strawberry wine benefits from aging, and while you can drink it young, I recommend waiting at least 3 months. At 6 months to a year, the wine really comes into its own with a smooth, rounded strawberry flavor.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Wine
- Use the ripest berries. Underripe or flavorless strawberries make underwhelming wine. Peak-season, fragrant berries are what you want, even if they are a bit soft or overripe.
- Freeze for better extraction. Freezing strawberries for a week before winemaking breaks down cell walls, releases more juice, and reduces pectin for clearer wine.
- Be patient with aging. Strawberry wine is drinkable young, but the flavors really harmonize after 6 months of bottle aging. Make a big batch so you have bottles to open along the way and some to save.
- Try a strawberry mead. Substitute 2-3 pounds of honey for the sugar to make a beautiful strawberry melomel. The honey adds complexity and pairs wonderfully with the berry flavor.
- Blend with other berries. Strawberry wine blends beautifully with raspberry wine or a splash of elderberry wine for added depth and color.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a standard one-gallon batch, use about 2 pounds of sugar. This produces a medium-sweet wine with around 12-14% alcohol. For a sweeter wine, you can increase to 2.5 pounds, or reduce to 1.5 pounds for a drier result. The exact sweetness depends on your yeast strain’s alcohol tolerance since yeast with higher tolerance will consume more sugar.
Yes, frozen strawberries work excellently for winemaking. In fact, freezing strawberries for at least a week before making wine has benefits: it breaks down cell walls for better juice extraction and reduces pectin content by about 50%, which helps the wine clear more easily. Let them thaw completely before using and include all the juice that releases.
Cloudiness in strawberry wine is usually caused by pectin haze or suspended particles that have not settled yet. Adding pectic enzyme at the start of fermentation helps break down pectin. If your wine is still cloudy after several months, you can try fining agents like bentonite, or simply give it more time. Cold crashing (chilling the wine near freezing for a week) can also help particles settle.
Primary fermentation with the fruit takes about 10 to 14 days. After racking to secondary, expect another 4-6 weeks of slower fermentation. Total time from start to bottling is typically 2-3 months. However, the wine continues to improve in the bottle, and most strawberry wines taste best after aging for 6 months to a year.
You can make a simple strawberry wine with just strawberries, sugar, water, and wine yeast. For substitutions: use 1 tablespoon lemon juice instead of 1 teaspoon acid blend, a cup of strong black tea instead of tannin powder, and a quarter cup of golden raisins instead of yeast nutrient. However, proper wine yeast is essential since bread yeast will produce off-flavors and die at low alcohol levels.
Strawberry Recipes
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Strawberry Wine
Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 lbs sugar
- 1 tsp acid blend
- 1 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp tannin powder
- 1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
- water to fill
- 1 packet wine yeast, see notes
Instructions
- Place the strawberries and sugar into a large bowl or directly into your fermentation vessel. Allow the sugar to pull the juice from the strawberries for a few hours.
- Add the remaining ingredients (except wine yeast) and fill with water to within a few inches of the top of the fermentation vessel. Give it a stir or shake to combine the ingredients.
- Dissolve a packet of wine yeast in about 1/4 cup of water and allow it to rehydrate for at least 5 minutes. Add the dissolved yeast into the wine base and cap the mixture with a water lock.
- Allow the mixture to ferment for about 10 to 12 days and then use a siphon to rack the wine into a new fermenter. Filter through a fine mesh strainer as you go to remove any strawberry chunks and leave any sediment behind.
- Cap with an airlock and allow the strawberry wine to ferment in secondary for about 6 weeks, or until fermentation is complete, before bottling.
- Bottle the wine, leaving behind the sediment. Cork bottles and allow it to age for at least a month, preferably 3-6 months before drinking.
Notes
- 1 tsp Acid Blend = 1 TABLEspoon lemon juice
- ⅛ tsp Tannin Powder = 1 cup strongly brewed black tea
- 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient = ¼ cup golden raisins (sultanas)
- 1 tsp Pectic Enzyme = freeze the fruit for 1 week before making the wine to break down pectin
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Winemaking Recipes
Strawberry wine is just one of many ways to preserve a bumper crop of berries. If you have more strawberries than you know what to do with, try making old-fashioned strawberry jam or seedless strawberry jelly. Looking for more winemaking inspiration?
Browse my collection of 50+ winemaking recipes or explore 50+ mead recipes for honey wine variations. Other berry wines to try include raspberry wine, blueberry wine, and blackberry wine.
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I just started the first stage last night and had an overflow into the water lock this morning? Is it ruined? I thought I gave it enough space with the couple inches but what can I do to remedy if it happens again?
It should be fine. It just means you have a very active ferment. I would give it more space next time and just keep an eye on your current batch.
can i change my lock on the 2nd day? its pulling wine, and making a lil mess…:/
Yup. If it gets messy, pull it off and clean it out. You can actually leave the lock off for the primary if it continually gets mess, just cover with a towel. Lots of people use a no water lock primary, especially with vigorous fermentations and/or warmer temps. After you rack it, or once things calm down (at 7-10 days), just make sure you get the water lock back on. It’s most necessary during secondary, to prevent the alcohol created from turning into vinegar.
When you rack into the secondary ferment, do you worry about the level? It seems like leaving all those strawberries and sediment behind would drop the wine/juice level to about 2/3 of the secondary ferment jar. Does this need to be topped off with water? Or just leave the level wherever it is? Thanks!
Everyone seems to have a different answer to this…some make up an extra batch of juice and keep it in the fridge to add after the primary. Others add a neutral wine (in this case, topping it off with a sweet white wine). Others add water, or sugar water. And some just leave it a bit low in the secondary fermenter. What I do depends on what I have on hand, and how much volume is left. Often mine are only a little low, and then I leave them.
Do you use the whole packet of wine yeast when making just one gallon? Had heard that amount was meant for 5 gallons, but not sure if it matters? Thanks
The yeast multiply quickly, so you can use as little as 1/5th of the packet, or the whole packet, either way is fine. A packet is good for anywhere between 1 and 5 gallons. I’ll often use a half packet for 1 gallon batches, and save the second half for another batch if I’m doing one in the next week or two. If I don’t have any others planned, I’ll just use the whole thing.
Do you ever use campden tablets to kill off any wild yeast for a day before adding the wine yeast? Would love to know why or why not? Thanks! Love your site btw!
I actually generally don’t use Campden tablets, because the wild yeasts present are quickly overwhelmed by the pitched yeast (and are usually less vigorous anyway). I haven’t had a problem, except when making watermelon wine. That one, for whatever reason, is especially vulnerable to contamination and issues (that recipe’s coming soon). But to your question, nope, I don’t generally sterilize the juice with chemicals before making the wine.
After primary fermentation on my strawberry wine it tasted sour. Is this normal? If not is there anything I can do ?
I would allow it to finish the fermentation process and if it still tastes sour after that you can always back sweeten it. There is some information on that in this apple wine post. https://practicalselfreliance.com/apple-wine/
I followed your recipe to a tee (it smells great so far!), but I forgot to take an OG to calculate ABV after fermentation. Would you have a general reference of an OG for this recipe?
I followed your recipe to a tee (it smells great so far!), but I forgot to take an OG to calculate ABV after fermentation. Would you have a general reference of an OG for this recipe?
I followed the recipe but tripled it (15 lb of strawberries and 7lb of sugar) and had an OG of 1.17. I just moved it to secondary with a “FG” of 1.05…clocking in around 15.75% for now. I used champagne yeast.
very good idea,
Can you make this wine without the acid blend and tannin?
If it needed acid..would a little lemon or lime juice work?
I’m wanting to learn the old ways of making wine..what I have on hand..can you please help?
You don’t have to add the tannin powder, but I would recommend adding acid because they yeast function better with it. Yes, you can definitely use lemon juice instead. You need one Tablespoon of lemon juice in place of every teaspoon of acid blend (basically, 3x as much by volume because lemon juice isn’t as acidic as acid blend).
For more information on substitutions, check out this article on making small-batch wine which covers all the additives.
What about using citric acid powder like you can get for canning?
Yes you can use citric acid.
I am four days into my strawberry wine 5 gallon the gravity is on 1060 what does it need
I use lemon juice for the acid, strong black tea for the tannins and a handful of raisins for the nutrient. So far so good. I’m new to this, so far I have made dandelion, rose petal and strawberry today. Having a blast.
Love this website!! Thank you!
You’re welcome. So glad you’re enjoying it.
I have a 5 gallon jug that I use to start my wines and then I rack them into a 3 gallon glass container. So all my wines are 3 gallons or less. But since I am starting it in the 5 gallon I cant just fill the container to the top with water. Is it safe to assume to just add 3 gallons or a little less of water?
I misread these directions and let it all ferment for 6 weeks with the strawberries in it. I didn’t strain the strawberries out after a couple of weeks and then do a secondary ferment for 6 more weeks. It seems like it’s done fermenting. Will it still be good if I just strain out the strawberries now, bottle, and age it ya think? Oops…
Honestly, not straining the strawberries out is totally fine assuming they didn’t clog the water lock (or start to mold if they were above the water line). It doesn’t sound like they did, so I’d just keep on going and bottle it when it’s done fermenting. Sounds like you’re on the right track!
What yeast did you use?
Red Star Premier Blanc because that’s what I happened to have on hand, but take your pick of wine yeasts.
This is an awesome recipe. I am two weeks in and just racked to my secondary fermenter. The wine is still young, obviously but the stolen sip I had was excellent. I can’t wait to bottle it (and steal another sip 😉 )
This is an awesome recipe. I am two weeks in and just racked to my secondary fermenter. The wine is still young, obviously but the stolen sip I had was excellent. I can’t wait to bottle it (and steal another sip 😉 )
Awesome! Glad you’re enjoying it. I always steal sips whenever I can get them =)
I just racked to a second fermenter after 2 weeks. I too stole a sip. It was very sour/bitter. Is this normal?
Any advice on adapting this for making
blackberry wine? This seems highly adaptable, but I’m a novice, and would appreciate some counsel. Summer is coming!
You could definitely just make this with blackberries, but I also have a blackberry wine recipe posted.
Have you ever added bluberries to the strawberry wine. Have used your recipes for multiple wines but would love to try a mixed berry.
I think that sounds wonderful. Please come back and let us know how it turns out.
i’am new at this.what is acid blend.tannin and pectic enzyme and where do I get all of this.thanks
Hi there. You can find pectic enzyme, acid blend, and tannin for winemaking on Amazon. The brand, LD Carlson is what you want to look for.
I love the sound of this! I’m wondering if it is possible for a non alcoholic version? Maybe don’t leave it in as long? I’m just think for it looks so lovely my kids would love it too 😉
Yes, you can definitely make this non-alcoholic, and there are a few different ways. If you want to use yeast, it’ll always have a tiny bit of alcohol, but this traditional Finnish fermented lemonade is basically a quick fermented lemon wine/mead that’s only allowed to culture until it starts to bubble, so it has a negligible amount of alcohol. Some estimate 0.05%, and you could do that with strawberries.
For a completely alcohol-free version, you can make it with either Keifer grains or whey. Here are instructions for making a whey based blackberry soda, and it’d work the same for strawberries.
Thank you so much! I’ll give it a go 😉
I have made water kefir and add strawberries at the 2nd fermentation. It makes a wonderful and refreshing carbionated drink.
This doesn’t seem very sterile… as a home brewer you always here sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize sterilize !! LOL I know that is repetitive but that is how often it is mentioned anytime anyone talks about home brewing.. Have you never run into infections this way?